Bottle coupling device



Nov. 10, 1964 w. G. INDRUNAS BOTTLE COUPLING DEVICE Filed Jan. 22, 1962United States Patent 3,156,272 BOTTLE COUPLING DEVICE William G.Indrunas, New York, NY. (68-19A Clover-dale Blvd., Bayside, Long Island,N.Y.) Filed Jan. 22, 1962, Ser. No. 167,563 1 Claim. (Cl. 141-286) Thisinvention relates generally to bottle coupling devices, and moreparticularly to coupling devices for draining ketchup bottles or thelike.

In connection with the serving of various liquid condiments and sauces,it is desirable that the bottle at the table be substantially full whenfirst served. To this end, it is usual and customary for waitresses andwaiters to take partially emptied bottles and to so transfer thecontents that there remain a lesser number of substantially fullbottles. Because of the high viscosity and consequent slow pouring ofthese substances, such as, for example, ketchup, chili sauce, cocktailsauce and the like, this can become a slow, time-consuming operation.

It is therefore among the .principal objects of the present invention toprovide structure whereby the contents of one bottle may be convenientlytransferred to another bottle, requiring attention only at the time theoperation is commenced, and when completed.

Another object of the present invention lies in the provision ofcoupling devices which are easily connected and disconnected to theirrespective bottles, and by use of which the flow of material from onebottle to another is improved.

Another object herein is the provision of devices of the characterdescribed which may be manufactured on a large scale at low cost to havea consequent wide distribution and use.

A feature of the invention lies in the fact that the devices may beeasily cleaned and maintained in a sanitary condition so that the foodproducts are uncontaminated.

These objects, and other incidental ends and advantages, will more fullyappear in the progress of this disclosure, and be pointed out in theappended claims.

In the drawing, in which similar reference characters designatecorresponding parts throughout the several views.

FIGURE 1 is an elevational view showing a first embodiment of theinvention.

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view as seen fromthe plane 2-2 on FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a partially exploded view corresponding generally to FIGURE2.

FIGURE 4 is a vertical sectional view of the coupling device inaccordance with the first embodiment.

FIGURE 5 is a vertical sectional view corresponding to FIGURE 4 butshowing a second embodiment of the invention.

In accordance with the invention, the coupling device, generallyindicated by reference character 10, comprises broadly: a first couplingelement 12; a second coupling element 14; a first stop element 16; asecond stop element 18; and air venting means 20.

While the device may be fabricated by integrating a plurality ofseparate parts, I prefer to make the same as a unitary device. Aneconomical process for manufacturing the device 10 is that of casting,and the same may be cast of noncorroding alloys, glass, or natural orsynthetic ruba.

her or resin. It made of synthetic resin, such as, for example,polystyrene, polyethylene, nylon, or the like, it is desirable thatthese materials be resistant to deformation when subjected to hot Watersuch as may beused in cleaning the same.

The first and second coupling elements are preferably generallycylindrical in shape and provided with internal threads 22 and 24. Thepitch and effective internal diam- "ice eter of the threads 22 and 24 issuch as to make the same detachably engageable with the threads 26 and28 on the necks 30 and 32 of the bottles 34 and 36.

As will be obvious to those skilled in the art to which the presentinvention relates, where necessary, the threads 26 and 28 of the usualcondiment containers may be suitably accommodated by the internalthreads 22 and 24. Similarly, where the device 10 is made of resilientmaterial, the first and second coupling elements 12 and 14 may besutficiently expansible to be temporarily distorted so that in beingcoupled to the bottles 34 and 36, instead of screwing the same in by atwisting motion, it may be sufiicient to push them together along theircommon axes. A comparable separating motion may be used to disconnectthe coupling after the transfer has been made. The resilientconstruction just described may be obtained, for example, by fabricatingthe device 10 of polyvinylchloride, natural rubber, synthetic rubber, orsilicone.

The first and second stop elements are preferably integralconstrictions, the internal diameter of which is sufficient to preventthe rims 38 and 40 of the necks 30 and 32, respectively, from cominginto contact with each other. The purpose of this is two-fold. First, itprevents the containers, especially if they are made of glass, frombecoming chipped by pressure against each other. This prevents glasschips from entering into the food substance, generally indicated byreference character 50, and also prevents the leaving of sharp edgeswhich could be harmful to the users. The second reason for the spacingof the rims 38 and 4G is to allow entrapped air to exit through theventing means 20.

The venting means 29 preferably takes the form of at least one, or aplurality of, perforations in the second stop element 1%.

In use, the device may be arranged in a number of ways. Thus, forexample, it is feasible to connect the second coupling element 14 uponthe neck 32 of a container or bottle 36 until the neck 32 takes theposition shown in FIGURES 1 to 3, inclusive. It will be noted that inthis position the venting means 20 lies above the rim 40 but below theconverging stop element 16 so that the inner ends of the perforationslie vertically below the inner wall 52 (FIGURE 3), and also below theinwardly converging wall 54. This arrangement of the parts prevents thefood material from falling onto or clogging the perforations of themeans 20. From a perusal of FIGURE 2 it will be seen that the junctureof the Walls 52 and 54 is circular and inwardly spaced from the inneropenings of the perforations of the means 20.

It is then desirable to temporarily place the bottle 36 at an angle ofapproximately 45 and to connect the bottle 34 with the first couplingelement 12. Because of the relatively high viscosity of the foodsubstance 50 and its slow travel, this connection can be made before anyof the substance 50 is spilled. In fact, because of the angle of thecontainers during this period, connection can be made before any of thefood substance reaches the coupling device It The coupled bottles 34 and36 may now be placed upon a horizontal surface, as a unit, and allowedto remain until substantially all of the food substance 50 originallydisposed in the upper container (in this case, the bottle 34) flows intothe lower container (the bottle 36). Be-

cause of the relatively elevated center of gravity in the While the foodsubstance 50, such as, for example, ketchup, is draining from the uppercontainer to the lower one, the arrangement needs no personal attention.Thus, where a number of bottles are being worked on, by the time thelast of them are being connected, the first are already sufiicientlydrained to permit this connection.

While the air venting means 20 have been described as forming an exitfor entrapped air, whether or not they perform this function will dependupon the constituency, the consistency, and the amount of food substancebeing transferred, because under many conditions air will be enteringthrough the means 20 to travel up into the upper container to take theplace of the food substance as the same moves downwardly.

Turning now to the second embodiment of the invention illustrated inFIGURE 5, for the purpose of avoiding needless repetition certain of theparts corresponding to the first embodiment are given the same referencecharacters with the addition of the prefix 2.

It will be noted that the second embodiment omits the venting means 20with a loss of the function thereof.

The second embodiment is suited for those materials of lower viscositywhere the entrapped air in the lower container may easily pass throughthe constricted area of the coupling device into the upper container, sothat a sufiiciently rapid flow of food substance takes place.

I wish it to be understood that I do not desire to be limited to theexact details of construction shown and described, for obviousmodifications will occur to a person skilled in the art to which thepresent invention relates.

I claim:

A bottle coupling device for draining ketchup bottles and the like fromone bottle into another, comprising: a first annular coupling elementhaving threaded means for engaging the neck of one of said bottles, afirst converging stop element at an inner end of said first couplingelement to limit the ingress of said neck of said bottle relative tosaid first coupling element, said stop element including a firstupwardly flaring inner wall; a second coupling element similarlydetachably engageable with the neck of the other of said bottles; asecond converging stop element at an inner end of said second couplingelement, said second stop element including a downwardly flaring innerwall, said last-mentioned wall having a perforation extending throughthe plane thereof forming air venting means; said upwardly anddownwardly flaring walls meeting and forming a juncture which isinwardly spaced from the inner end of said perforation, whereby fluidmaterial is prevented from falling into said perforation as saidmaterial flows from an uppermost bottle to a lowermost bottle.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,083,183 Bednarowicz Dec. 30, 1913 1,728,965 Hein Sept. 24, 19291,881,929 Pottenger Oct. 11, 1932 2,773,521 Peroson Dec. 11, 1956

